"It's a great day when you can watch the community come together at Regner Park to enjoy some music," said Tom Stauff of one of the many video productions he gets to do at West Bend Community Television.
Tom Stauff poses in front of a green screen.
Seven years ago, Tom was a Moraine Park Technical College student getting a degree in interactive media when he learned about the opportunity to intern at West Bend Community Television. "I didn't know what I would be doing, but I wanted to make a difference in the community." Tom found the experience "deeply satisfying" and a good fit for his work needs. He is a single father, who has an autistic son. He wanted a part-time position that would fit in with his freelance graphic design work he did from home. In 2016 the city hired him as a part-time production assistant. Since then, Tom has been increasingly busy covering routine government meetings, exciting high school sports and an endless variety of community events. "I really like covering high school sports especially. It's important for the kids and their families to see themselves in the spotlight and to encourage them. There are scholarships out there for good athletes."
Tom has always shown an enthusiasm for video production and an aptitude for learning the technology that has enabled West Bend Community Television to provide the whole community with better coverage. "I got interested in technology as a musician and artist. I realized that if I didn't learn the technology, I could only take my art so far." His interest was fueled by his dad, who always tinkered with video and animation and loved to operate a camera for a friend of his who was a documentarian. "I remember playing around with reel-to-reel tape recorders and watching my dad," he said.
Last year, when school board meetings were moved to the high school auditorium to allow for social distancing, Tom quickly figured out how to send the meetings out live, not only on cable, but on YouTube and the city's On Demand site. He has also improved high school sports coverage, both basketball and particularly football. John Ehlke, Producer, West Bend Community Television, said "Our football audience grew immeasurably in 2020 when Tom began running the TriCaster and broadcasting games out live. The work he does on every Friday to ensure audio is set, the stream is good and cameras are in place is part of the reason why I think our community enjoys the broadcasts each week.”
Tom has also proven to be quick on his feet. During one game in the 2020 season, there was an injury that resulted in the player being taken away by ambulance. Tom kept the live broadcast going throughout by cutting away from the action now and again and playing some short programs WBCTV produced for the business community called "Business of the Month." John said, "In my opinion, this was the best professional moment for Tom. He acted quickly to be respectful to the player and family but still kept our audience engaged during a large down time in action. We kept nearly all of the hundreds of live viewers that night."
Tom Stauff (far right) joins Nicole Bell (Communications Manager) Mike Ryan (WCM Hall of Famer) Justice Madl (District 7 Alderman and WBCTV Chair), John Ehlke (Producer), Jess Wildes (Communications and Economic Development Director) and Tom Stauff (Production Assistant) at the WCM Best of the Midwest Media Fest West Bend party.
It's clear Tom simply loves his job. "When you're in community media, you're always interacting with the community and trying to make a positive difference in their lives. That's what I like about it the most. I think the one event that really impacted me was the Special Olympics Wisconsin Medal Ceremony that I covered. The ceremony was supposed to take place after the games outside, but it was rained out and held at city hall. We broadcast it live. I got a chance to talk with Mary Fiegel. She has worked as a coach for Special Olympics for forty years and she was amazing. And I was recording all these happy athletes and they were so excited they were on TV. I decided I wanted to get my son involved in that. And I was so thrilled I could bring this wonderful event to the community and I knew everyone involved in the Special Olympics was really happy about it too."
"Having Tom Stauff on our staff has been nothing short of a miracle," said John. "His knowledge, expertise and reliability make him an invaluable member of our team." And for his part, Tom remembers another occasion, when a little girl at a 4th of July parade told him she was excited to be on TV because she wanted to show her dad the stuffed animal she was carrying. Her dad was serving in the military. "It's not just about material things, it's about helping people," said Tom.
